"Poorly handled mental health care"

About: Central And North West London NHS Foundation Trust

I went to the CNWL at 190 Vauxhall Bridge Road to access NHS mental health support for the first time. I am a sexual assault victim living with PTSD. After waiting 3 months for the first appointment, I went in for the 1-hour assessment, where I had to go over all details of my trauma for the triage nurse so she could know how to treat. Painful. She referred me to a General Anxiety Disorder treatment 6-week program, where people share with a small group about how they cope with day-to-day stress triggers. After 2 weeks, I communicated to staff that this treatment was WRONG. One staff agreed that I was not receiving the right treatment, but in the end, no action was taken. Of course I felt unsupported and misunderstood. I avoided attending the rest of their classes, but I still needed help... 2 months later, I was feeling very depressed so I reached out to book in actual PTSD treatment and this unnecessarily rude admin told me that I had been de-registered as a patient. He said I would have to re-register, wait a few months for an initial appointment and then re-do my 1-hr assessment, then wait for treatment. I couldn't believe staff for a mental health center would be so rude to staff who like myself, call when they are depressed, or experiencing other symptoms! All in all, seeking counselling from this location was a huge waste of time and caused more negative feelings than positive ones. I did end up receiving PTSD support, but it was from a self-help book which I found at Waterstones.

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Responses

Response from Central And North West London NHS Foundation Trust 5 years ago
Central And North West London NHS Foundation Trust
Submitted on 27/01/2020 at 13:27
Published on nhs.uk at 13:32


Your experience sounds truly awful and I am very sorry that you have been left feeling so unhappy. I am concerned about your account and would like to find out how we can help you now.

Can I talk to you please? I’d like to make sure that what happened to you doesn’t happen to others.

Please could you contact me on 030 3333 0000 or westminster.iapt@nhs.net.

Dr Clair Pollard

Consultant Clinical Psychologist & Clinical Lead

CNWL Talking Therapies Service Westminster

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